Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton nearly ended up an off-ice enforcer

ROB LONGELY, QMI Agency

CHICAGO - By any measure, Shawn Thornton is the prototypical fourth-line enforcer, the kind of player just about every NHL team could use.

He grinds. He fights. He takes care of his teammates. In short, he serves and protects.

But before he won his first of two Stanley Cups back in 2007, the Boston Bruins winger was this close to being a different type of enforcer.

With a career that was more minor than major in the eight seasons after being selected 190th overall in the 1997 draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Thornton thought long and hard about changing in his blades for a badge.

The 35-year-old Oshawa, Ont., native was so serious about pondering a career change that he spent some time tailing a couple of friends who were officers with the Metro Toronto police force.

If hockey wasn't going to work out, becoming a cop seemed like a reasonable, good career move for a big-bodied dude who was running out of patience waiting for his big shot.

"I had planned on staying one more year," Thornton said in an interview this week. "I had been in the minors eight years on and off -- the majority in the minors -- with two organizations, and the grind was kind of getting to me.

"My wife and I made a decision that I would try one more team and if it didn't work out, I'd probably hang 'em up. And if I was going to hang 'em up, I had no idea what I was going to do. I had a limited education and I decided the police force might be the way to go."

Thornton already had some interest in the profession thanks to his wife, who had gone through some testing with the Toronto force and was ready to move forward with the process. The two also befriended a couple who were already cops.

The more Thornton learned, the more he considered.

"I went on a couple of ride-alongs with this friend and went and played hockey with his crew and a bunch of other guys," said Thornton, who on Friday was wearing a Massachusetts State Police ball cap following Bruins practice at the United Center.

"I was really just trying to meet people and see what I had to do if I wanted to get into it and if it was something I could do when I was done. I was ready to do it and then obviously Anaheim happened and life turned out to be amazing.

“No complaints for sure."

What happened in Anaheim was a career rescue that would spectacularly change the course of his life. Signed by then-Ducks general manager Brian Burke, Thornton would win a Cup in his one and only season (2006-07) with the club before ending up in Boston in 2007-08 where he's been ever since.

He hasn't looked back, of course, winning another Cup with the Bruins two years ago as a steady influence on the fourth line.

"It definitely appealed to me, that would have been my next step," Thornton said of becoming a Toronto cop. "I really liked the fact that it was a team, too. You felt like you were a part of something. The young guys still have to pay their dues. It just appealed to me."

Thornton has long been a supporter of first responders and was active in meeting with police and firemen after the Boston Marathon attacks.

"It's gone back for a long way," Thornton said of his appreciation for police officers. "It's such a thankless job at the end of the day. They do so much for us and they never get the credit that is due. Being there and at the station with the Toronto guys, it appealed to me even more."

So, with the end of his playing career potentially winding down, is Thornton still considering another uniform?

"I don't think my body could handle it now," said Thornton, who has four assists in 17 playoff games this spring.